International Women’s Day 2025 - how can we speed up gender equality?

I n reading about the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day theme, #AccelerateAction, there was one figure which stuck with me.

The World Economic Forum has estimated that at the current rate of progress, it will take until 2158 to reach full gender parity. While positive steps are being taken, it’s clear that more swift and decisive action is needed if we want to see real change.

One action that our client Zuto, a Manchester-based fintech, is taking as part of IWD 2025 is to encourage its team to make pledges to help #AccelerateAction. These include, for example, nurturing an environment where people can thrive being their authentic selves.

I feel incredibly lucky to work alongside so many talented and inspiring women at Zuto. I am proud of the diverse environment we have created, where everyone feels empowered to be their authentic selves.

Aimee Gethin Chief Operating Officer, Zuto

Ahead of IWD, we asked some of our clients and partners to share what they believe will help us to achieve gender equality at a faster rate – and how they feel they can impact on this, in their personal and professional lives. Here’s what they told us.

Fran Darlington-Pollock, CEO, Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity – which raises vital funds to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping in Greater Manchester

Dismantling inequality requires uncomfortable conversations. We have to ask ourselves why does the gap exist? What role might we, consciously or not, play in maintaining or even widening that gap? And, what role must we play in closing it?

We are perhaps a bit more ready to have those conversations in the context of gender, inequality and the workplace or our professional spheres, but we may be less so in the context of our personal spheres.

Confronting that discomfort, and challenging the stereotypes that feed it, is critical if we’re going to reduce inequality. It’s particularly important when thinking about women’s experience of homelessness.

Providing services that take into account the unique experiences of women and girls (also known as gender-informed service provision) is vital if we’re going to overcome the barriers and biases they face, whether in the context of homelessness, or any other professional or personal sphere. Identity matters. It shapes our experiences, and it shapes our interactions. You can’t dismantle inequality without understanding that.

What would my advice be for others? Advocate, champion, and call out injustice – at whatever scale you see it. This is hard – it’s uncomfortable, and you have to do it in a way that not only speaks to your values but also the values of the organisations and communities you’re associated with. It can be in calling out when voices and experiences are excluded from conversations or decisions that matter to them. It has to also be in recognising when you have played a part in that, and learning how to do better. It’s the incremental things you can do every day, as well as the bigger things, even if they seem hard. Most importantly, it’s about being open to listening and acting when you have got it wrong.

Identity matters. It shapes our experiences, and it shapes our interactions. You can’t dismantle inequality without understanding that.

Fran Darlington-Pollock CEO, Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity

Rachel Chesters, Founder & MD, Start Communication – a boutique B2B marketing consultancy

As we approach IWD 2025, it has to be the time for action and not talk. Women simply don’t need empty platitudes, corporate LinkedIn posts, pledges, or panel discussions that lead nowhere. What we do need is urgent, tangible action. Gender equality won’t be achieved by asking women to adapt, to do more (paid or unpaid labour), or to navigate infrastructure (childcare being the big one!) that was never designed with a workforce of women in mind. Things need to change.

That means promoting women while they’re pregnant or on maternity leave, not waiting until they return. It means making flexible working the default, not something women – mothers in particular – have to beg for. And it means considering part-time and fractional leadership roles. None of this is a cop-out – it’s a way for organisations to retain and work with experienced, talented women who want to lead.

I’ve benefited from progressive leadership. I was promoted into a directorship shortly after maternity leave, because I worked for a business that backed me. And I’ve also seen the worst of it – breastfeeding through a redundancy meeting and working with people who didn’t understand the challenges around childcare infrastructure. I’ve literally marched for flexible working rights and I’ve fought for women to be judged on their talent, not their life stage or the number of children they have.

At Start Communication, we do our absolute best to practise what we preach and we try to work hard to drive positive change. We’re an all-woman team and we put flexible working at the heart of what we do, not just for ourselves, but for the many freelancers and consultants we work with too. We work to champion female freelancers and female-founded businesses whenever we can – that includes brilliant businesses like Fourth Day! And in the last year, we’ve twice walked away from new business where the values just didn’t align with our own. What’s my driver for this? Showing my five year old daughter and my nine year old son that the future can  and must look differently.

Women simply don’t need empty platitudes, corporate LinkedIn posts, pledges, or panel discussions that lead nowhere. What we do need is urgent, tangible action.

Rachel Chesters Founder & MD, Start Communication

Holly White, Social Media Manager, Partful

In order to achieve gender equality, I believe women need visibility. Greater visibility in traditionally male-dominated industries like tech and manufacturing is key. When more women are seen in leadership, technical roles, and industry conversations, it challenges stereotypes and encourages young women just starting their careers, to follow in their footsteps.

To achieve this, businesses in the tech and manufacturing sectors need to make active changes to their hiring plans and create a healthy workplace culture, that both supports and promotes women at all levels.

In my role managing social media for a B2B SaaS company, I ensure that diverse voices are represented in the content we share. By highlighting female leaders and experts in tech and manufacturing, I hope that I can do my part in breaking down outdated perceptions of who belongs in this space.

When more women are seen in leadership, technical roles, and industry conversations, it challenges stereotypes and encourages young women just starting their careers, to follow in their footsteps.

Holly White Social Media Manager, Partful